Questions over Henry killer’s family grow as Sikhs turn their backs after claim hiding weapon was ‘what any mother would do’ and road rage video emerges
The family of Henry Nowak’s killer have been ostracised by the Sikh community as the murder has blown up into a national row.
Vickrum Digwa repeatedly stabbed the innocent student before lying to police that he had been racist in a disturbing case that sparked national furore.
Henry, 18, was then handcuffed as he lay dying on the pavement despite telling arresting officers ‘I can’t breathe’.
Digwa, 23, who repeatedly stabbed the innocent student before lying to police that he had been racist – was jailed for life on Monday sparking mass protests in Southampton which were marred by violence.
The Mail revealed that members of Digwa’s family have gone into hiding in recent days because they fear reprisals.
Now we have learned that members of the wider Sikh community also fear they could be unfairly targeted such is the febrile atmosphere in the city.
And there is widespread anger among local Sikhs at the Digwa family for ‘bringing trouble to our doorstep’ through their failure to deal with ‘difficult boy’ Digwa and his growing interest in knives.
It comes as we revealed the killer’s brother Gurpreet Digwa was was filmed holding a Sikh ceremonial sword in the street during an apparent road rage incident outside a Hindu temple.
The family was already facing criticism as thew killer’s mother Kiran Kaur faces sentencing or assisting an offender after taking the murder weapon away from the scene – a move defended by grandmother Bimla Kaur who said: ‘She only did what any mother would have done.’
Digwa and his family are Nihang Sikhs – a martial sect that prides itself on being skilled in the use of swords, knives and other weapons while proclaiming themselves to be the ‘commandos’ of the faith.
Henry Nowak, 18, was handcuffed as he lay dying on the pavement despite telling arresting officers ‘I can’t breathe’
Vickrum Digwa repeatedly stabbed the innocent student before lying to police that he had been racist in a disturbing case that sparked national furore
Jas Singh, a Nihang who had known Digwa, said: ‘Digwa is a fake Nihang.’
He added: ‘Yes, weapons are important to us, and we learn to use them, but it is clearly stipulated that they can only be used to protect the faith, uphold justice and defend the innocent, not kill them.
‘The Nihangs are an upright and noble people, but Digwa was none of these things. He was a common thug and yob, no different to any other you commonly see on the streets of Britain.
‘There is more to being a Nihang than owning weapons and dressing in a particular way.’
Another regular at the Gurdwara added: ‘Digwa had a really bad temper on him, behaved badly and thought that he could get away with anything.
‘A lot of people in this area didn’t like him or some of his family and we’ll be glad to see the back of them because they have disgraced us all.’
Even Digwa’s own grandmother, Bimla Kaur, 75, has said he had corrupted the family’s heritage by killing Henry.
She told the Daily Mail: ‘Vickrum was devoted to that [Nihang] way of life, it meant everything to him. It’s an important part of our faith and it’s something that I’m proud of, that there are Nihangs in this family.
‘But these weapons are not meant to be used on the innocent, so something has gone wrong. This whole case has destroyed two families: Henry’s and mine. And what also makes me sad is that our whole community is now being targeted with all this talk of banning kirpans [Sikh knives].
Digwa’s brother Gurpreet (left) and their father Moga Singh (right) face charges of possession of offensive weapons
Digwa’s mother Kiran Kaur was found guilty of assisting an offender by removing a weapon from the scene of the murder of Henry Nowak
Separately, the Daily Mail revealed that Gurpreet Digwa, 27, brother of Vickrum, was filmed carrying a sword next to his Mercedes in Southampton during an apparent road rage incident
Knife-obsessed Digwa regularly participated in combat sessions with an array of arms as a member of the Nihangs, an ancient order of Sikhism that was formed around 500 years ago to protect the religion and its gurdwaras, (places of worship) at a time when they were under attack from Muslim rulers in India.
The Nihangs became known for their bravery and ruthlessness on the battlefield and expertise with weapons such as swords, knives, spears and iron chains, earning a fearsome reputation for being the ‘army of Sikhism’.
Separately today, the Daily Mail revealed that Vickrum Digwa’s brother Gurpreet was filmed with a ceremonial sword in an angry confrontation outside a Hindu temple.
Gurpreet, 27, was seen with the bladed weapon beside a Mercedes A180 while arguing with a fellow motorist in Southampton last year.
Videos circulating online showed him shouting as another man held him back outside the city’s Vedic Society Hindu Temple.
Multiple sources in Southampton, with knowledge of the incident, identified the man with the ceremonial sword as Gurpreet.
It is not known when the incident took place, but one witness who lives on the street claimed it was around the time of the murder of Henry by Vickrum.
